Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Изысканный труп by Поппи Брайт, Poppy Z. Brite

11 reviews

erica_reads_things's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is one of the "oldest" horror books that I have read on my journey so far and it did not disappoint! I could have gone for even more gore, personally, but I did really enjoy the intense emotional stories of the characters Tran and Luke. The inclusion of the AIDS epidemic and the societal commentary was a pleasant surprise amongst my expectation of a gory horror novel. This was just overall a pretty great, quick read and a must for horror fans. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cannibalism, Body horror, Murder, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Death, Gore, Pandemic/Epidemic, Torture, Rape, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Drug use, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Classism, Animal cruelty, Addiction, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Incest and Stalking

sigynmoon's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Torture, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Suicide, Pedophilia, Homophobia, and Infidelity

Minor: Racism, Police brutality, Incest, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Racial slurs

quietlex's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have no complaints. As twisted as it is, I was cheering inside when Andrew and Jay finally found each other. To be able to know another so deeply at their core, and have your fleeting time together ripped away so soon. This is a beautifully written dark horror, eloquent and right to the point. The ending feels a bit rushed and sad, such is death. Very fitting. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Drug use, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Dementia, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Incest, Kidnapping, Abortion, Addiction, Self harm, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Death, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Blood, Cancer, Cannibalism, and Cursing

books_onthe_ground's review against another edition

challenging dark funny tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

See, this is the kind of book that you can’t just say “I loved it!” because you will get concerning looks but I did, in fact, love this book. I enjoyed reading it immensely! Which is strange to say because of the absolute horrendous and extremely graphic things that happen in this book, but that’s the point!! It’s supposed to be one of the most uncomfortable and graphic things you’ve ever read and it boy does it succeed in that!! This is probably the most graphic thing I’ve ever read and it FASCINATED me. As a horror reader and writer it was so interesting to see how much Billy was able to put in the book and it’s definitely going to be a book that stays in my head throughout my career. It’s not a book I would recommend for everyone because of the extreme content warns however I will absolutely be yelling about this book for YEARS to come. I’m so so so happy I finally read it and I can’t wait to read more of Billy’s work!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Body horror, Cursing, Excrement, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Torture, Vomit, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Rape, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racial slurs, Gore, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death

priceliketag's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Violence, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Confinement, Chronic illness, Gore, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Torture, Blood, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Moderate: Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Incest, and Animal death

thesawyerbean's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

I have never had a book cause such a visceral reaction in me before, it literally made my stomach turn - I had to stop reading it in moving vehicles to settle the nausea.

This was absolutely repugnant to read, and frankly not enjoyable. The characters all sucked in their own ways, some more than others obviously - the discourse on HIV/AIDS was heinous and the grotesque descriptions of carrion and murder were horrifyingly indulgent. The love affair with abuse that all the characters (even the good ones) seemed to foster was gross as well. 

I’m not naïve in expecting this book to be pleasant reading, but it could’ve been done in such a better way. This was just literal torture porn. In addition one of the fundamental plot points is just… unbelievable? Andrew somehow managing to basically die without actually dying, getting the better of actual medical professionals and then coming back to consciousness at the exact right time? Sure. Made the whole book even more ridiculous.

I wouldn’t recommend this even if it was good, but it wasn’t. So what’s the point?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Classism, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Blood, Cannibalism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Excrement, Gore, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence

katrione's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Murder, Drug abuse, Cannibalism, Pedophilia, Rape, Gore, Animal cruelty, Violence, Incest, Addiction, Stalking, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Torture, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death, Body horror, and Blood

devin_raquel's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Sadly, I was disappointed with this book; the TikTok hype is just not worth it in my opinion. 
Yes, there was cannibalism. Yes, there was necrophiliac scenes. Yes, there was plenty of detailed gore. But I found the characters flat and the switching between POVs irrelevant. I think the story could’ve been told entirely from Andrew Comptons’ POV, and the readers would’ve gotten the same experience. 
As much as I love a dark and bloody story, this one just didn’t do it for me. The only saving grace was Brites’ exquisite imagery and descriptions; she made even the most horrible acts sound beautiful. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Drug use, Racism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Racial slurs

rosesofthespring's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Excrement, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Outing, Terminal illness, Torture, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Child abuse, Gun violence, Infertility, and Incest

Explicit descriptions and discussion of HIV/AIDS in the 80s gay scene. Significant anti-Asian racism. Granted it all comes from characters who are meant to be despicable, but it is still constant.

zomblex's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Stalking, Torture, and Violence